Tension device for use in making fences



(No Model.)

G. D. GOINER.

TENSION DEVICE EOE USE IN MAKING EENoEs. No. 399,383. Patented Mar. 12,1889.

O R Q Q Q Arm/mus UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GABRIEL nEwrrT coINER, OF KOINERS sToRE, VIRGINIA.

TENSION DEVICE FOR USE IN MAKING FENCES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,383, dated March12, 1889. Application filed May 11, 1888. Serial No. 273,586. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GABRIEL DEWITT (burns, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Koiners Store, in the county of Augusta and State ofVirginia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tension Devicesfor ITse in Making Wire-and-Picket Fences, of which the following is aspecification.

In constructing wire-and-picket fences (of the class in which thepickets are held between two pairs of wires twisted together) the wireshave been drawn through tension devices formed, broadly speaking, of ablock or plate and a series of pegs or pins. In some cases such blocksor plates have been loosely attached to a Windlass anchored to theground, and in others they have been attached to a post set in theground at a considerable distance from the one to which the wires arepermanently secured. Thus a separate tension device is required for eachwire or pair of wires, and supplementary devices or attachments areemployed to secure the tension devices proper to the aforesaid windlassor post, as the case may be.

My improved tension device consists of a vertical standard supportedrigidly on a relatively broad base, and a removable guardplate rigidlyattached to the face of said standard, but separated from it by a narrowspace, and two horizontal rows of pins which project from the standardat points included between the ends of said plate. Thus the said partsare rigidly connected, and one guard serves for both pairs of wiresapplied to the two rowsof pins. The device is moved from point to pointas the fence-making progresses, and may be pinned or OlllllPlWlSQsecured to the ground.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of myimproved tension device, showing same in operation. Fig. 2 is across-section on line a, Fig. I. Fig. 3 is a detail view of a twisterwhich I employ in making the fence.

A represents the tension device, which consists, in part, of thestandard or upright B, rigidly secured to a base, 0, which is madesufficiently broad to support the standard. A diagonal brace, D, extendsfrom the stand ard to the base and assists in holding the standard inposition. The standard 13 is provided with two or more rows of pins, a,which project a short distance from its surface. Two or more rows ofholes may be made in the standard and the pins driven in; or the pinsmay be secured to the upright in any suitable manner.

E represents a part to which the ends of two or more pairs of wires, F,are firmly se cured. These wires, which can be drawn from reels, areplaced around the pins a, and the ends are then fastened to the post E.

In arranging the pairs of wires F on the pins a, one of the wires ispassed over and the other wire is passed under the first pin. The wiresare then crossed and passed over and under the rest of the pins in thesame manner. To the upper and lower parts of the standard B are fastenedthe blocks 1) b. After the wires are placed on the pins akeeper orguard-plate is applied to the face of the standard B for holding thewires on the pins. Said plate is arranged vertically parallel to thestandard, but separated from it by the thin spacing-blocks b.Screw-bolts c and nuts d serve as means for securing the platedetachably to the standard, and also for holding the blocks 1) in place.Those pins or which are opposite the plate G abut or bear against it, asshown in Fig. 2.

H represents a wrench or twister for fastening the pickets in position.The twister consists of a head, e, and a handle, f. The head 6 isprovided on opposite edges with slots or notches g g. These notches areen larged at their inner ends, as shown in the drawings.

In constructing a fence with my device the starting-post E is firstfirmly fixed in the ground in the desired position. The tension device Ais then placed at any convenient distance from the post E in the lineofthe fence, and firmly anchored to the ground or fastened by rods orchains to a post or other fixed point. As many pairs of wires as isdesired for the fence are then drawn from the reels, carried around thepins on the tension device, and the ends secured to the post E. Theguard-plate G is then placed in position and secured by bolts 0, asshown. The twisters H are then placed between the two wires and turnedso as to bring the wires into the notches. The twisters are moved alongthe wires a short distance from the post E, a picket is placed in thespace thus made, and the twistersare each given one or more turns toform a twist in the wires. The twisters are again slid along the wire ashort distance, a second picket is inserted, and the twisters are thenturned in a direction opposite to the first movement. The operation iscontinued the same way, the direction of the movement of the twistersbeing reversed with each picket, in order to keep the wires from beingThe tension should be so regulated that the wires Will be readily fedout from the reels as they are taken up while being twisted.

Owing to the enlarged openings at the ends of the notches, the twisterscan slide easily along the wires, while, the other part of the notchesbeing but slightly larger than the wires, the twisters cannot easilybecome displaced.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is The improvedwire-tension device, consisting of the vertical standard B, havingabroad base, C, to which it is rigidly secured, the removable guard-plateG, rigidly secured to said standard in vertical and parallel position,spacing-blocks b, interposed between the plate and standard, and thepins (I, inserted through the standard and projecting from its face intwo horizontal rows arranged between the upper and lower ends of theguard-plate, shown and described.

GABRIEL DElYITT COINER.

Witnesses:

W. R. OULLENs, E. S. KOINER.

